Weekly Franciscan reflections
Start every week here, with a Franciscan reflection on what the Gospel, St. Francis, and biblical stories offer to us that we can bring forward into our daily life.
Reflection for week of 2 February, 2025
In gratitude for creation
2025 marks the 800th anniversary of St. Francis writing the Canticle of the Creatures, a poetic prayer that praises God the creator of everything and expresses respect for creation. The Canticle inspired St. Francis’ proclamation (1979) as the patron saint of animals and ecology. In this first quarter of the year, we will focus our weekly reflections on God’s creative power and human thankfulness for what we have received.
In the first chapter of the Book of Genesis, we read a very familiar story of creation: God speaks, and the universe is created. The Hebrew word for “speak” is Dabar, meaning that God simply uttered the Word and the thing was created. It is important for us to know that God created everything out of nothing — this tells us that the pinnacle of creation is humankind.
God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” The creative power of God is Almighty, but he decided to share that power with humans; as He says, “Go forth and multiply.”
Let us practice gratitude that we are made in the image and likeness of God. As we move through the week, take notice of the miracle of our creation.
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